Artistic interventions by Yayoi Kusama and Lucas Samaras on everyday objects rendering them unusable, thereby transforming them into memorable works of art.
<<To make ”Accumulation No. 1”, her earliest sculpture, Kusama covered an armchair with stuffed and painted phallic protrusions. She hand-sewed each of these elements, later explaining, ”I make them and make them and keep on making them, until I bury myself in the process. I call this obliteration.” When she first exhibited this work, critics were shocked by the humorous, sexualized transformation of an ordinary domestic object. Since then, over the course of her fifty-year career, Kusama has created ”accumulations” of various materials on furniture, domestic objects, clothing and even room-sized environments.>>
Book 4, 1962. Book with pins, table knife, scissors, razor blade, metal foil, piece of glass and plastic rod || Lucas Samaras
<<”Book 4” is a multifaceted object and a miniature world in itself. Although it includes eight fictional narratives written by the artist and surprises such as pop-ups, pockets, interlocking layers, foldouts and hidden pamphlets, it is not a storybook. Encrusted with needles and shards of glass in addition to brightly coloured beads and pieces of mirror, it is difficult, if not dangerous, to handle – the better, perhaps, to guard the secrets that it might contain.>>
Fascinated as I was with the depth, width and length of Picabia’s work retrospective, you didn’t think I’d leave MoMA without taking a long, refreshing look into the treasures of their permanent collection, did you?
In this series, we will walk through the sleek minimalist galleries, explore highlights, share favourites, be inspired and intrigued by some very stimulating works of art indeed.
Beginning with this charming postman, his suave royal blue uniform in contrast with the dark leaf green backdrop, the swirl of his beard echoed in the wind-swept flowers, the healthy colour of his skin reflected in their petals:
Portrait of Joseph Roulin, 1889. Oil on canvas || Vincent van Gogh
<<This portrait of Joseph Roulin is one of six Van Gogh painted of his close friend, a postal employee in the southern French town of Arles. Van Gogh had moved to Arles in 1888, hoping to create an artists’ cooperative. The plan never came to fruition and Van Gogh became lonely and isolated. He found comfort and companionship with the Roulin family and they are the subjects of many of his paintings. In this portrait, Roulin is depicted in the uniform he always wore, proudly, set against an imaginative backdrop of swirling flowers. In a letter to his brother Theo, the artist wrote that, of all genres, ”the modern portrait” excited him the most: ”I want to paint men and women with that something of the eternal which the halo used to symbolize, and which we try to convey by the actual radiance and vibration of our colouring.”>>
***
Something about the strong, almost geometric lines; the contrasting colours; the warmth and energy; the bright yellow light falling sideways on the bodies and making them glow:
Bathers, 1907. Oil on canvas || André Derain
***
Of all the paintings by Gauguin, this is my favourite one:
Still Life with Three Puppies, 1888. Oil on wood || Paul Gauguin
<<When Gauguin painted ”Still Life with Three Puppies”, he was living in Brittany among a group of experimental painters. He abandoned naturalistic depictions and colours, declaring that ”art is an abstraction” to be derived ”from nature while dreaming before it.” The puppies’ bodies, for example, are outlined in bold blue, and the patterning of their coats mirrors the botanic print of the tablecloth. It is thought that Gauguin drew stylistic inspiration for this painting from children’s book illustrations and from Japanese prints, which were introduced to him by his friend Vincent van Gogh that same year.>>
***
I am captivated by the fine elegance of Picasso’s work during his Blue and Rose periods. Anything beyond that leaves me indifferent:
Nude with Joined Hands, 1906. Oil on canvas || Pablo Picasso
***
Au contraire, all due respect to the real master of Cubism and his hypnotic, geometric perspectives:
Man with a Guitar, 1911-12. Oil on canvas || Georges Braque
***
The dynamism and violence and forces of nature, all in one picture:
The City Rises, 1910. Oil on canvas || Umberto Boccioni
***
And all the sadness of the world, in one body:
Hope II, 1907-08. Oil, gold and platinum on canvas || Gustav Klimt
<<A pregnant woman bows her head and closes her eyes, as if praying for the safety of her child. Peeping out from behind her stomach is a death’s head, sign of the danger she faces. At her feet, three women with bowed heads raise their hands, presumably also in prayer—although their solemnity might also imply mourning, as if they foresaw the child’s fate.>>
***
These Munch-like faces with a neon colour palette:
Street, Dresden – 1908. Oil on canvas || Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
<<At the time he made this painting, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner was living in Dresden, a large city in southeast Germany. In a letter to fellow painter Erich Heckel, he wrote of the Dresden crowds, “Completely strange faces pop up as interesting points through the crowd. I am carried along with the current, lacking will. To move becomes an unacceptable effort.” Kirchner heightened the colors of this city scene, depicting the figures with masklike faces and vacant eyes in order to capture the excitement and psychological alienation wrought by modernization.”>>
***
This couple looking bizarrely distant in their two separate worlds, gazing in different directions had me wondering about their pose – until I read the accompanying note:
Hans Tietze and Erica Tietze-Conrat, 1909. Oil on canvas || Oskar Kokoschka
<<In 1909 the Viennese art historians Hans and Erica Tietze asked 23-year-old Oskar Kokoschka to paint a marriage portrait for their mantelpiece. They were strong supporters of contemporary art in Vienna and together helped organize the Vienna Society for the Advancement of Contemporary Art. Mrs. Tietze recalled that she and her husband were painted individually, a fact suggested by their separate poses and gazes. Kokoschka used thin layers of color to create the hazy atmosphere surrounding the couple, and added a sense of crackling energy by scratching the paint with his fingernails.>>
Extracts from accompanying tags, either on site or on line (under the ”Artists” section)
Honouring the past. Living in the present. Connecting with the future.
”During her research, Shin found old photographs in the Transit Museum and the New York Historical Society Archives that documented the dismantling of the El trains on 2nd Ave in the 1940s and of the 3rd Ave El in the 1950s, which became the primary sources of inspiration for the work. The artist decided to transform the 63rd Street Station into a time machine of sorts, surrounding today’s commuters with images of New Yorkers who once commuted on the El that stood in the same spot nearly 7 decades ago. “I wanted the new permanent work to connect to this landmark moment in New York City’s history and bring this story to public life, what was lost and gained in the making of the 2nd Ave Subway,” she said.”
What we didn’t want to miss that night was the latest work by Batsheva Dance Company, choreographed by Ohad Naharin, making its NY premiere in BAM. I was prepared to be impressed and I was – by the dancer at the back of the stage running on a treadmill for the entire duration of the show! According to reviews, and as you can see below, it was supposed to be a woman (dressed in blue) but on the evening we watched she had been replaced by a man. Still standing, drenched in sweat at the end of the performance, he deserved – and received – a warm round of applause. The work itself was a barrage of beautiful, intense moves and ideas, so much so that the audience was left with no breathing space; no chance to absorb and truly appreciate the scenes. On the way out, we agreed that Last Work was aesthetically stimulating, but bringing so many elements and people on the stage together, all at the same time, resulted in cancelling out emotions it was supposed to evoke. Indeed sometimes, there can be too much of a good thing.
I could totally relate to the frustration of this fellow subway rider, that evening. Arrived over half an hour late to the theatre and only made it to the performance because we had planned dinner before the show (still managed to have a fast track version of it, though). For, besides the already confusing ”planned service changes” on weeknights, there seemed to be a few ”unplanned” ones too, reserved especially for the weekend commuters.
February 4th, 2017
Subway ventures to the unknown
Manhattan to Brooklyn
The Kiss (Le Baiser) c. 1925-26. Oil and enamel paint on canvas in a frame likely by Pierre LegrainIdyll (Idylle) c. 1925-27. Oil and enamel paint on woodWoman with Matches [II] (Portrait of a Woman on a Blue Background) (La Femme aux allumettes [II] [Portrait de femme sur fond bleu]) c. 1924-25. Oil, enamel paint, matches, coins, curlers and hairpins on canvasPromenade des Anglais (Midi) c. 1924-25. Oil, enamel paint, feathers, pasta and leather on canvas, in a snakeskin frame by Pierre Legrain
Painting (Flowerpot) (Peinture [Pot de fleurs]) c. 1924-25. Enamel paint, Ripolin paint-can lids, brushes, wooden stretcher wedges, string and quill toothpicks on canvasWoman with Monocle (La Femme au monocle). Alternative title: Woman with Pink Gloves (Man with Gloves) (La Femme aux gants roses [L’Homme aux gants]) c. 1925-26. Oil and enamel paint on boardFrom the accompanying tag: ”In 1926, the review ‘This Quarter’ reproduced thirteen of Picabia’s ‘Monster’ paintings, including this one, which bore the title ‘Woman with Pink Gloves’. By the time of the painting’s first known exhibition in 1956 however, it had acquired the title ‘Man with Gloves’. The work is displayed here with both titles restored. Although neither necessarily originated with Picabia, both speak to the androgynous character of his wasp-waisted, white-suited figure. With its green face, single oversized eye, and pustule-pink hands presumably clad in driving gloves, it is one of Picabia’s quintessential Côte d’Azur Monsters. The Surrealist André Breton was one of its early owners.”
Sphinx, 1929. Oil on canvasΜélibée, 1930. Oil on canvasAello, 1930. Oil on canvasPortrait of the Artist (Portrait de l’artiste), 1934. Oil on wood
From the accompanying tag: ”This work began as a portrait of Picabia painted by the German artist Bruno Eggert in 1934. Eggert gave it to Picabia, who then added his own touches: a pair of dark-tinted glasses on his nose, a face in the lover left corner, a transparent female body across the picture, the edge of a stretcher in the upper right corner. He also signed and dated the work. Here, Picabia adopted another artist’s work as the support for his own, with over-painting used to assert rather than deny.”
Portrait of a Woman (Portrait de femme), 1935-37. Oil on canvasFratellini Clown (Le Clown Fratellini), 1937-38. Oil on canvas
Part 5 concludes our round of Francis Picabia’s retrospective at MoMA.
”You are all indicted, stand up! It is impossible to talk to you unless you are standing up. Stand up as you would for the Marseillaise or God Save the King.
Stand up, as if the Flag were before you. Or as if you were in the presence of Dada, which signifies Life, and which accuses you of loving everything out of snobbery if only it is expensive enough.
One dies a hero’s death or an idiot’s death – which comes to the same thing. The only word that has more than a day-to-day value is the word Death. You love death – the death of others.
Kill them! Let them die! Only money does not die; it only goes away for a little while.
That is God! That is someone to respect: someone you can take seriously! Money is the prie-Dieu of entire families. Money for ever! Long live money! The man who has money is a man of honour.
Honour can be bought and sold like the arse. The arse, the arse, represents life like potato-chips, and all you who are serious-minded will smell worse than cow’s shit.
Dada alone does not smell: it is nothing, nothing, nothing. It is like your hopes: nothing like your paradise: nothing like your idols: nothing like your heroes: nothing like your artists: nothing like your religions: nothing.
Hiss, shout, kick my teeth in, so what? I shall still tell you that you are half-wits. In three months my friends and I will be selling you our pictures for a few francs.”
Manifeste Cannibale Dada
by Francis Picabia
27th March 1920
The work of Francis Picabia will remain our theme this week, as we follow the artist’s style shifts through the galleries of MoMA.
Picabia began this painting as a joke, to entertain himself and his friends at a time when he was suffering from an eye infection and his doctor prescribed something called sodium cacodylate. How effective it was we may never know, considering its toxicity which can cause irritation to the gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes! – not to mention its garlic-like smell.
Perhaps to ease his discomfort during what must have been a very irritating period, the artist painted an eye on a canvas and asked friends who visited him to leave their mark around it.
The result is a unique collage of signatures, pictures and dedications but, more significantly, a record of Picabia’s circle of friends:
Marthe Chenal wrote: Ecrire quelque chose, c’est bien !! Se taire, c’est mieux !! ~ Write something, it’s good !! To be silent is better!!
Jean Crotti : MON OEIL EN DEUIL de verre vous regarde – which, in free translation, could mean: MY MOURNING glass EYE is watching you.
Raymond Dorgelès : Non je n’en reste pas baba et je jure chez Picabia que ne n’aime pas Dada ~ No I do not remain baba and I swear at Picabia’s that does not like Dada.
Isadora Duncan : Isadora aime FRANCIS de tout son âme ~ Isadora loves Francis with all her soul.
Darius Milhaud : Je m’appelle DADA depuis 1892 ~ My name is DADA since 1892.
Clément Pansaers : Vive agaga Pansaers. Picabia te souviens-tu de Pharamousse ? – Live agaga Pansaers. Picabia do you remember Pharamousse?
Francis Poulenc : J’aime la salade ~ I love salad.
Hugo François : Je n’ai rien fait et je signe ~ I didn’t do anything and I sign.
Over 50 signatures complete the picture including those of his wife, Gabrièle Buffet, his close friends Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp – the latter signing as his alter ego, Rrose Sélavy (Éros c’est la vie) – and it is here Rrose received a second R for the first time; Tristan Tzara, Ezra Pound; Suzanne Duchamp (Marcel’s sister) wrote: Quand on me prend au dépourvu MOI = Je suis bête – When I’m caught off guard ME = I’m stupid.
It goes on and on, giving shape to truly collective creation.
L’Oeil Cacodylate (The Cacodylic Eye) Oil on canvas, and a collage of photographs, postcards and cut papers 1921
The work of Francis Picabia will remain our theme for next few days, as we follow the artist’s style shifts through the galleries of MoMA.
Francis Picabia ~ ”Our heads are round so our thoughts can change direction”Francis Picabia ~ ”Our heads are round so our thoughts can change direction”Reverence (Révérence), 1915. Oil and metallic paint on boardGabrielle Buffet, She Corrects Manners By Laughing (Gabrielle Buffet, elle corrige les moeurs en riant), 1915. Ink, watercolour, pencil on boardMachine Without a Name (Machine sans nom), 1915. Gouache, metallic paint, ink, pencil on boardVery Rare Picture on the Earth (Très rare tableau sur la terre), 1915. Oil and metallic paint on board, silver and gold leaf on wood, with artist’s painted frameMusic is Like Painting (La Musique est comme la peinture), 1915. Watercolour, gouache, ink on boardWatch Out for Painting (Prenez garde à la peinture), c. 1919. Oil, enamel paint, metallic paint on canvasBring Me There (M’Amenez-y), 1919-20. Oil and enamel paint on boardFrancis Picabia ~ ”Our heads are round so our thoughts can change direction”Capturing The Child Carburetor (L’Enfant carburateur), 1919. Oil, enamel paint, metallic paint, gold leaf, pencil, crayon on woodThe Unique Eunuch Ivy (La Lierre unique eunuque), 1920. Enamel paint and metallic paint on board
The work of Francis Picabia will remain our theme for next few days, as we follow the artist’s style shifts through the galleries of MoMA.
Free listening and free download (mp3) chill and down tempo music (album compilation ep single) for free (usually name your price). Full merged styles: trip-hop electro chill-hop instrumental hip-hop ambient lo-fi boombap beatmaking turntablism indie psy dub step d'n'b reggae wave sainte-pop rock alternative cinematic organic classical world jazz soul groove funk balkan .... Discover lots of underground and emerging artists from around the world.
The Humble Fabulist 